Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger introduced his retirement from the NFL earlier this offseason after 18 years. He left a long-lasting legacy that included two Tremendous Bowl trophies—each of which got here early in his profession. In reality, he stays the youngest quarterback to ever win a Tremendous Bowl.
Reflecting for a second throughout an look on the Sports activities Spectrum with Jason Romano, he realizes now that all of it wasn’t essentially a great factor for him, personally, and he acknowledged that adapting to that early success as a person didn’t come simply.
“Not very nicely, trying again on it”, he advised Romano, when requested how he was capable of deal with it. “On the time, I most likely felt every thing was wonderful. I acquired this persona, if you’ll, this ‘Massive Ben’, the nickname that I acquired—and I nonetheless have it—however, that’s an on-the-field factor, and I type of took it off the sphere, and didn’t go away it there, early in my profession, which I used to be capable of do later in my profession”.
6’5” and round 240 kilos, there’s a cause Roethlisberger was referred to as Massive Ben. And it wasn’t simply due to his look, nor simply due to the best way that he performed, shoving off defenders, but in addition due to his skill to step up and lead his workforce. However that was Massive Ben on the sphere, the place he was supposed to remain.
“I’m like, ‘No, I’m simply Ben’. Folks come as much as me at a restaurant or one thing, ‘Oh, Massive Ben!’. ‘No, simply Ben. Good to fulfill you’”, Roethlisberger mentioned of how he handles it now. “It’s straightforward when you may have that success to take that off the sphere, and reside bigger than life, and have these emotions inside you, and like I mentioned, put your religion on the backburner”.
Whereas he has constructed a more healthy relationship along with his previous success and his public persona, nevertheless, he nonetheless appreciates—certainly, does so greater than ever—the chance to permit his superstar to make somebody’s day. It’s a accountability he doesn’t take as a right, an essential reminder when it seems like a burden.
“I used to be advised early on, should you aren’t within the temper for it, don’t go away your own home”, he mentioned. “I’ve loved it extra, truthfully, as I’ve gotten older, as a result of I really like seeing little children come up and ask for autographs and footage, and I believe that’s what that is about, and it’s a privilege, what we’ve been given”.
Maybe it’s partially as a result of Roethlisberger was as soon as a type of little children, trying as much as gamers like John Elway. Now he has his personal youngsters, they usually put on the jerseys of their dad’s former teammates—although, he says, it was at all times no. 7 on gameday.
Roethlisberger is transferring on along with his life’s work, however his former workforce should now seek for his alternative. One factor we are able to say for certain is that there’ll solely be one ‘Massive Ben’. However there’ll at all times be one other man.
